TOURNEY BRACKETS

Since Division II doesn't have any play-offs, the two teams havn't played in games in weeks, and it showed. The defenses for both teams had the edge as the offensive players for both squads had trouble finishing. C.W. Post found an especially difficult time putting the ball on cage, but credit also has to go to Limestones defense. Post sticks to isolation plays and they look for a shortstick match-up. Rick Mathews, Jason Randolph, and Brad Bauer were shortstick defenders for Limestone that were nothing short of fantastic on defense. Between their defensive play and Limestones man-down unit, the Saints found an edge. There was a lot of talk about Limestone not even belonging in the final due to their weak schedule, but they proved everyone wrong with a great win on a miserable day with cold weather and mist in the air. It felt like the beach in stormy weather on a cold day.

Ludwig field provided an insufficient facility as there wasn't enough seating for fans or restrooms. I guess there are some people who care about DII and rightfully so after the show they put on today.

The Saints came out of the gates early scoring 32 seconds into the game. Rick Mathews ran a simple right-handed sweep and fired one low to beat R.J. Degenfelder and go up 1-0. Tom Small ran a similiar play from behind when he ran full speed to his right to beat his defender to the front of the net and shoot it low to the far side, 2-0. Shortly after, Limestone could have gone up by three, but Degenfelder stuffed a point blank shot to keep things within reason. The Saints began a long day of taking penalties at the 10:28 mark when Paul Pickersgill was called for a push. The freshman goalie, Malloy, squeezed his legs together to block a shot that was from only three yards away and kill off the penalty. Josh Hough gave Post another man-up when he was called for slashing. This time Post got it past Malloy but it dinged off the crossbar. Limestone killed that penalty as well and took it back to the offense where Jason Randolph was stoned by Degenfelder. The rebound, however, came straight to Matt Collins who drilled it home for a 3-0 lead. Jake Lawson ttok another penalty for the Saints for a push and Malloy came through with another key leg save. Post looked out of sink as they short-armed a few passes and just looked generally confused on offense. The picked it up with about five minutes left, but this time Post hit post. So close, but yet so far away. With time running out in the first, the Pioneers got on the board when Benny Cattone took a feed from Anthony Santamaria and fought through a stick check while standing on the crease. The defender didn't take the body and it cost them as Cattone finished and made it 3-1. Limestone got their first man-up chance with a minute left, but Degenfelder was sharp coming up with a huge save on a point blank shot. With only 21 secs. To go the Saints were penalized again.

Limestone survived the man-down at the start of the second and things cooled down a bit. It wasn't until the 11:42 mark the Cattone struck again for Post. It came on a brilliant set of passes. It started out at the top of the box and went across, down, and back acrosse to Cattone for a right-handed shot in front of the net, 3-2. Limestone came right back, but they missed the net on two great opportunities. Larry Collins tied it up when he launched one from outside to beat Malloy, 3-3. Limestone needed a strange goal to get them going again. There was a loose ball at the midfield line and players got way out of position. Longpole, Josh Rudder, came up with the loose ball and fired it to Nick Carlson who was at the restraining line. Degenfelder decided to come out and try to surprise Carlson, but Carlson turned to the outside and had a wide open net, 4-3. Chris Cambell got his second penalty for the Saints and finally Post was able to make 'em pay. Cattone struck again with a shot to the upper right corner, 4-4. Jeff "What you talkin' about" Willis put Limestone ahead by one with a canon from the outside that caught the upper left corner, 5-4. End to end action that made the fans tired just watching ensued. Coach Cerino called a timeout for the Saints after he couldn't take it anymore. With 1:24 left Mike Brezenski took a slahing penalty to give Limestone another man-up. The Saints got off three or four great shots, but Degenfelder was equal to the task or the shot were off target.

The second half picked up with the rough play were it had left off. First Joe Bucello got called for a slash for Post and then Chris Sherman took two one minute penalties for cheap-shotting Dave Kelly at the midfield line with a late hit. Kelly, a longstick for Post, was down for quite a while, but he finished the game. Neither team could capatalize on the extra-man plays. At the 8:19 mark Carlson fed a pass from down low to the goalies right against the grain towards the opposite side high. The pass seemed to miss the intended target, but it made its way to Brenden Spilker's stick for an ouside shot that made it 6-4 in favor of Limestone. Post came right back at the 7:45 mark when Drew Cavadias maneuvered past Josh Rudder and beat Malloy to make it 6-5. Limestone held a massive possesion edge for the rest of the third, but they were unable to score. Then with only six seconds left in th third the Saints got the ball at the sideline in their own end. They threw a prayer at the goal and it was almost answered. Degenfelder jumped out to make the initial save, but he didn't hold on to it. In the scuffle the Saints slap-shotted it at the net, but Rob Parengkuan had wisely stepped behind Degenfelder and made the save in net.

Limestone came out in the fourth quickly with a weak goal on Degenfelder's part when Spilker swept to his right and beat him short-side in the upper right corner, 7-5. Post went offsides after they were already man-down and gave Limestone a chance to go up by three. The Saints took advantage when Carlson scored again, 8-5. Limestone went on their penalty ridden day with a thirty second hold, but Post came through with a righty crank by Joe Bucello who was set up from behind, 8-6. Post's Ernie Thompson continued the comeback with a Kamikaze run along goal line extended to Malloys' right. It was a successful mission and the score went to 8-7. The Saints answered with another carlson goal. Brezinski allowed Carlson to inside roll him from behind to get in Malloys' face one-on-one, 9-7. Limestone took another three goal lead when Matt Collins finished a spectacular succession of passes and fakes, 10-7. Post could have rolled over, but they fought back valiently. Cattone answered with an inside roll of his own to make it 10-8. With only 2:35 left the Saints were penalized. Gavin Chamberlin was standing in the low lefty spot and zipped a pass to the opposite side with the speed of a shot. Cattone caught it and threw it in the open net with Malloy caught out of position, 10-9. Erni Thompson had one final run for the Pioneers, but to no avail. Limestone ran out the clock and held on for the Championship.

Wow am I the only one that didn't see this joke of a game today. Oh no, what am I thinking!
There are 6 and 1/2 other billion people on the earth that did not see it!
What a disgrace, anyhoo, I ain't one to spoil a winner's party so in this case...
Great season Flintstone!
later

Whats all this hostility towards D2? NY Tech, CW Post, and Adelphi are all fine programs. I believe NY Tech lost 13-12 to Nazereth, one of the top seeds in the D3 tournament. Just because D2 doesn't get as much exposure as D1 or D3 doesn't mean that it lacks talent. I dont' think its fair that you criticize any D2 teams especially the national champions.

Hey listen, d2 cannot hold any weight. CW Post and Limestone and maybe Adelphi can play. They are guys that maybe didn't have the greatest grades in high school and came into a program like those three schools and can actually play decent lacrosse. As for the other programs, they cannot play for S*&@!
I mean D3 is much more competitive anyday. This game was sloppy and it showed that the format needs to be changed. These teams had a month layoff before their game, nonetheless the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. What a disgrace, I'm outta here
later chumps

Alright ya'll, what's up with bashing DII programs? I play for a DII team, and have played against C.W. Post, as well as some of the other tope ranked teams in the country. First of all, maybe the NCAA should put a little bit more effort into the program, like some refs that are better than what we had in highschool. We're not on scholarships, we have to work for our grades, and we also have lives at school. College is more than just lax, you cant forget partying and chicks, and theres class too. DII isn't a joke like everyone thinks, we were out in the middle of January running our asses off, we may not be the most talented, but we play with heart. Don't talk sh!t about DII when you're probably just some hack kid in highschool that will never amount to anything in the world of lacrosse. Screw dude, DII deserves better. Congrats to C.W.Post and Limestone, you guys deserve all the respect, as well as the other DII programs out there.

Okay, for the guys bashing D II ball listen up...they work just as hard (if not harder) than 1/2 of you guys. I play friggin' club ball, but we're out there all fall and winter to prepare for a little bit of NCLL lax. The D II guys are good. I was at the game, and the NCAA's pretty much not givin' up any love to 'em. Either we do away w/ D II lax and send 'em to either I or III or put a little more effort into this. Adelphi was ranked above Post, yet Post goes to play Limestone (who played a damn good game, didn't get sloppy until they were up 4). At least give 'em a final four to work with.